


Lullaby In Binary

by Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa)



Series: Eirlyssa's 2019 Bingo Fills [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Caring DUM-E, Dum-E Appreciation Hebdomad, Fluff, Gen, Tony Stark Bingo 2019, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, protective Dum-E
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 14:17:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18181706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eirlyssa/pseuds/Iron_Eirlyssa
Summary: DUM-E will take care of his creator, even when said creator is being stubborn about it.





	Lullaby In Binary

**Author's Note:**

> For the DUM-E Appreciation Hebdomad organized by the amazing WinterIron Server :D
> 
> Also a fill for square R2 of my Tony Stark Bingo: 'Tony in the workshop'. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> (And thank you ever so much to [Ru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudearrow) for helping me figure out the title!!!)

The workshop had always been a safe space. It was _his_ in a way it felt like nothing else was, considering his life had been lived in the spotlights ever since he was four and he made his first circuit board. Tony knew it wasn’t true, but it felt like bad things couldn’t happen in the workshop.

Part of that was the fact that those bad things did tend to happen outside of the workshop. Even Obie, who had been able to get closer than any other enemy, had attacked him in his sitting room instead.

Another part, a far greater part, was the fact that the workshop was _warm_. Not always in a physical sense, considering engineering wasn’t a cushy job, and Tony didn’t want to overheat. Mostly, it _felt_ warm. The workshop contained JARVIS, who kept an eye out to make sure no one came in who wasn’t allowed to be there, and it contained his ‘bots.

From his side, there was an enquiring ‘beep’. Realizing that he’d been drifting off again, Tony looked at his oldest. DUM-E had his claw angled just so that it conveyed his concern, and he couldn’t help but smile. Having been drunk when DUM-E was created, there were quite a few quirks in his programming, and as an assistant he wasn’t always the most practical. But by Tesla, Thor and everything in between, Tony loved him.

“I need to work, buddy,” he tried when DUM-E started pulling on his sleeve, trying to get him to move to the couch in the corner.

Of course, that didn’t work. It didn’t usually. Whatever quirks he might have, he’d come by his stubbornness honestly, and once he’d gotten it into his mind that Tony should be sleeping, he would keep pushing for it.

Tony sighed. “I know,” he admitted, and DUM-E stopped pulling for a second, arm moving so the camera was aimed at his face. He wondered what DUM-E was seeing. “I just can’t sleep. It’s not working.” Ever since New York, since the invasion, he hadn’t been able to sleep without having nightmares that had him screaming when he woke up. By now, he was afraid enough to go to sleep that he’d just started working through his exhaustion until he physically couldn’t anymore.

‘BEEP’.

Apparently, DUM-E was _not_ okay with that, which he could’ve seen coming. Ever since his activation, all he’d wanted to do was help out Tony in whatever way he could. It wasn’t always successful, of course, and the smoothies he made always needed to be tested for motor oil, but he tried.

(Tony never told anyone that he’d made DUM-E because he was so, so desperate for a friend that he knew wouldn’t betray him that he ended up deciding to _create_ one. By now, the only one who might know was Rhodey, who had come into his life soon after.)

“DUM-E,” Tony sighed as the ‘bot pulled him out of his desk chair, dragging him over to the couch. If he’d been less tired, he might’ve put up more of a struggle, but he’d always had a soft spot a mile wide for his oldest.

By the time DUM-E had settled him on the couch, he could feel the fatigue creeping up on him. The ‘bot instantly rushed off, returning with one of the blankets stashed around the workshop for when Tony was doing some of his more theoretical work and the temperature was just a little too low.

He grinned tiredly when DUM-E clumsily tried to cover him. While part of him wanted to help out, he knew DUM-E preferred to complete his tasks on his own. It helped that he was exhausted enough that moving seemed suddenly impossible.

Finally, he was covered properly, and he could feel his eyes falling closed. But sleep meant nightmares, and Tony couldn’t handle seeing death and destruction and endless darkness again.

He tried sitting up, but DUM-E’s claw was holding him down ever-so-gently. The ‘bot beeped with concern.

“I just… I don’t want to have another nightmare,” he confessed, hating the broken sound of his own voice. He was just so _tired_ , and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could do this (except he didn’t know how to change things either, not when it all seemed like way too much).

DUM-E beeped gently, moving beside the couch and draping his arm over Tony.

Tears started forming in his eyes, though he was able to keep from crying outright. “You gonna protect me?” he asked, choked.

‘Beep’, DUM-E confirmed, and Tony smiled as he closed his eyes. No, the ‘bot might have his quirks, but he was by far one of the best things Tony had ever managed to help create in his life. He might have started out with DUM-E’s initial programming, after all, but everything after that was something the ‘bot had learned himself, was something DUM-E himself had chosen to become. And Tony had never been more proud of the kind of ‘bot his oldest had become. 

With that thought, and a smile on his face, Tony finally drifted off.

Waking up the next morning, he remembered no nightmares at all - only DUM-E’s occasional beeping, soothing him into a restful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to come check out my [Tumblr](https://eirlyssa.tumblr.com/) as well if you want :)


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